


The Entropy of Stardust

by SugarsweetRomantic



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But It's Hard to Summarise Without Spoilers, Dark Past, Dialogue Heavy, FalseSymmetry to the Rescue, Galactic Alphabet, Gen, Happy Ending, Injury, Insecurity, Llamas, Loneliness, Lonely Welsknight Gaming, Minor Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Lives, Physical Disability, Post-Season/Series 06, Questionable Application of the Laws of Thermodynamics, Rehabilitation, Rescue Missions, Season/Series 07, Strong Female Characters, Supernatural Illnesses, Tags May Change, The End (Minecraft), The Nether (Minecraft), The Overworld (Minecraft), The Summary Isn't Even Half of What Takes Place, The Void (Minecraft), Young Evil Xisuma, Young Xisumavoid, ZombieCleo to the Rescue, internalized ableism, rare friendships, so this will have to do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 12,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24855175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarsweetRomantic/pseuds/SugarsweetRomantic
Summary: What if Cub hadn't shown up to show Wels the portal to Season 7? What if instead, Wels had been stuck in Season 6? What if False is the one to realise this? What if...?When False secretly goes on an expedition to a previous season to rescue Wels before the server self-destructs, some strange things start to happen to her and the Season 6 server. In the meantime, all of this sounds extremely familiar to a certain Creeper hybrid and Zombie, as well as their trusted Admin. While False attempts to rescue Wels, Doc, Xisuma and Cleo must do everything in their power to save all of them from a much darker fate.
Relationships: FalseSymmetry & Welsknight, FalseSymmetry & ZombieCleo, Minor or Background Relationship(s), No Romantic Relationship(s), Steffen Mossner | Docm77 & Xisumavoid, Steffen Mossner | Docm77 & ZombieCleo, Welsknight & ZombieCleo, falsesymmetry & grian
Comments: 72
Kudos: 149





	1. Prologue

_ FalseSymmetry: Hey X, got a moment? I was wondering something.  _

The whisper popped up with a quiet notification ping on Xisumavoid’s communicator. Strange, he mused, False wasn’t usually the one to approach him out of the blue.

_ Xisumavoid: Of course, what’s up? _

_ FalseSymmetry: This might be better face-to-face. Can I meet you somewhere? _

_ Xisumavoid: Town Hall, in about 10 minutes? I need to finish this up first. _

_ FalseSymmetry: Perfect, I’ll meet you there. _

\--

The town hall truly was a beautiful building, False thought as she climbed the steps up to the entrance. It was to be expected though, with three of their best builders working together to design and create it. As election day drew closer, actually becoming the Hermit in charge of it seemed so close and yet so surreal. 

The quiet noise of feet hitting the ground brought her out of her thoughts. Xisuma had just landed a few feet away from her, and he turned to face her properly. He was wearing his bee mask. In any other group of friends, someone dressing as a bee all day would probably be strange. Among the Hermits, it was rather tame.

"False, you said you wanted to talk to me. Is everything alright? Are you okay?" he asked her, still a bit breathless from his flight.

"I'm fine," False replied. "It's not about me. It's…" She motioned for them to sit down in the doorway. "It's about someone else."

"Shouldn't you be talking to the person in question, then?"

"That's the issue. I can't." At Xisuma's confused expression, False took a deep breath and asked: "Do you remember when we went through the Infinity Portal to get here?"

"Yes?" Xisuma replied, hesitation in his voice.

"Are you absolutely sure that...everyone made it through?"

"Of course!" the beekeper replied. "We sent out the invitations, everyone showed up, and we all stepped in together."

" _ Everyone _ ?" False repeated. Xisuma's brow furrowed. He opened his mouth to reply, but he suddenly froze.

"Wels."

"Exactly." False hugged her own sides to hide the trembling of her hands. "Wels is still there. Alone." Before Xisuma could say anything else, she stated: "And I'm going to get him back."


	2. Stepping Through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doc and Scar are consulted, and we check in on Wels.

“False, have you lost your mind?” Xisuma laid his hand on the blonde woman’s arm. “How are you even planning on doing that? It’s not like we have another Infinity Portal lying around.”

"I don't care," False replied. She stared at the polling station in front of them. "There has to be a way. We can't just leave him there."

"You seem determined."

"I am." Xisuma sighed.

"If you'd like," he started hesitantly, "I can ask Doc for help. See if he knows a way to get back. And perhaps Scar can help as well, with his magic. You're going to need a team." False shook her head.

"I'm not letting anyone else risk their life. If there is a way to get back to Season 6, I'm going in alone."

\--

Wels hummed quietly to himself as he flew past the large HermitLand sign, landing in front of the jousting stables.

"Hello there," he cooed at the horses in light blue and magenta armour, "aren't you all pretty today!" He had removed the jousting mechanics a few weeks ago, so that they would have more room to move around. If Stress ever returned, she could just build it up again if she wanted to, but there was no point in him playing the two-person game by himself. He dropped some hay blocks onto the ground for the horses and checked the water level of the cauldrons he had set out for them.

"Seems you're all set," he decided. Wels pulled out his book and quill and gazed at his to-do list. He still needed to feed the horses at Stress' castle and check on the aquariums. He had already dropped off some food for the villagers at the various trading halls, and checked the perimeter of HermitVille for raids. Sighing, he closed his book. As he took off again, he realised he was running low on rockets again. Maybe there would be some gunpowder in Mumbo's industrial district, if only he could figure out how to turn the farms on. He would have to write yet another I-O-U in that case. Sure, he had no idea if anyone would ever return, but he didn’t want to be stealing their supplies without their consent. Leaving notes was the least he could do.

\--

"You want me to help you do  _ what now _ ?!" Doc nearly fell off of the second floor of his half-house. 

"Wels is stuck in Season 6, Doc. Please." False's voice had been reduced to a whisper. The scientist hissed quietly and began writing out calculations on the whiteboard he kept in his base.

" _ Vielleicht _ ...."

"Can you get her to last season?" Xisuma asked in amazement. 

"Maybe." 

It was better than  _ no _ . 

\--

Scar, it turned out, was a lot easier to convince to help. The moment he heard False's plans, he produced a shulker box full of crystals from his ender chest. 

"That's all the crystals I own," he told her solemnly. "Take as many as you need. In fact, take them all." 

"Thank you," False replied as she picked up the box of crystals. 

"I'm not much of a combat wizard, I'm afraid," Scar stated. "But, if you stop by before you leave, I'll cast a protection and regeneration spell on you and your armour."

"I'll do that." Before either could protest, Scar had pulled both False and Xisuma in for a bear hug.

\--

The next stop was Stress’ potion shop. False didn’t want to notify absolutely everyone on the server of what she was about to do; the less people who knew, the smaller the chance someone would insist on coming with her. So, instead of just asking Stress for some potions, she and Xisuma landed at the large tree that marked her shop. Renaming a few diamonds to: ‘ _ Love ya, x False _ ’, False bought a handful of strength, fire resistance, regeneration and water breathing potions. She wasn’t sure what she would need, but that seemed to cover most of the possible dangers. Xisuma slipped her two night vision potions as well, when his communicator beeped, signifying a whisper. He gazed at it for a second before turning to False.

“Doc says he can open up a portal tomorrow, at exactly 9:46. He says you need to go through it at that exact time, or it won’t work.”

“I suppose I’d better get some rest then.”

\--

The next morning, a short while before the time Doc had specified, a small group of people was standing on the bedrock in the bottom of False’s base. Doc was working on the frame of the portal, which seemed to be made of honey blocks this time around. Xisuma had his admin screens pulled up in front of him, checking everyone’s location to make sure no-one was getting too close. Scar was busy mumbling a spell in a language none of them understood, and False was just...sitting there. Waiting for the right time. She was quiet, and focused. Dressed in her own armour and a helmet Xisuma had handed her that was similar to his own, she still had her visor pulled upwards. 

“Here goes nothing,” Doc suddenly announced, producing some blaze powder and sprinkling it on top of the honey blocks. He set it on fire using a fire charge, and the one-by-two portal came to life. Instead of the usual purple swirls, it was a bright gold, so bright that everyone present had to squint to be able to see. Doc handed False a written book, protected by another one of Scar’s spells.

“These are the exact coordinates and the exact time you can jump back to Season 7, as well as the instructions to building a portal back. If you miss it, the next opportunity is also there. After that, you would have to wait another twenty years to jump back.”

“But you wouldn’t have that long,” Xisuma commented. All faces turned to face him. “I’ve managed to extend the date a little while, but eventually, the Seasons 6 server is going to self-destruct. I can save the buildings in the cloud, but not the entities.”

“How long have I got once I arrive there?” False was scared to learn the answer, but she needed to know.

“A week. After that, Wels and you will both disintegrate along with everything and everyone in Season 6.” She nodded. A week. That sounded doable, didn’t it?

“Sixty seconds,” Doc announced. Scar immediately pulled her in for another hug. 

“Be careful, okay False? My spells can only do so much.” 

“I will.” Doc approached her next, first attempting to shake her hand, but then deciding to hug her anyway.

“You’re a brave woman, FalseSymmetry,” he decided. False was grateful her helmet hid most of her face so no-one could see her blush. Xisuma was behind her, checking her armour and closing her visor for her. He connected an oxygen tank to her helmet. They weren’t exactly sure where she would land, and if it was the bottom of the ocean, this would be necessary. Her elytra was in her inventory; she had Scar’s shulker box of crystals as well as shulker boxes of food and rockets.

“You’re good,” he announced. He hugged her as well, his face obscured by both of their visors. If she wasn’t mistaken though, False thought he was crying. “Be safe, False, and get Wels back.”

“I will.” Taking a deep breath, she gazed at the portal. 

“Ten seconds! Nine, eight, seven, six…”

There was no backing out now.

“Five, four, three…”

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t terrified though.

“Two, one, now!” Doc’s voice echoed against the walls of her base, and False stepped into the portal. The glowing light surrounded her. It was quite calming. Suddenly, a horrible high-pitched noise bounced around in her head. She tried to raise her hands to her head to cover her ears, but her helmet was in the way.

The next thing she saw was absolute darkness.

In her base, Xisuma, Doc and Scar watched as False’s form disappeared, and the portal immediately exploded. They were all blown against the walls of the cylindrical base, debris everywhere.

Coughing, Xisuma was the first to speak.

“Well...that’s it then. Now all we can do is wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! In case you didn't see the end note on Rest: I am so sorry this took so long! First my fiancée had to have emergency surgery last week, and then it was my turn over the weekend, so all of my plans for the rest of the week went out of the window. The next chapter should (hopefully) not take as long.   
> This chapter was quite fragmented still, but from now on, we shouldn't be switching scenes as much. Thank you for reading this far, and I'd love to hear your thoughts! Have a great day!


	3. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> False steps through the portal and arrives at the other end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter than normal; I hope you'll forgive me!

The first thing False felt when she regained consciousness, was that every single bone and muscle in her body hurt like never before. The next, was a sense of cold that penetrated her entire being. Groaning, she opened her eyes, only to be staring straight at the legs of an enderman. 

“Oh shoot!” she exclaimed, immediately looking back down. Thank the Watchers she hadn’t managed to look at his face. Scrambling to get up, her hand instinctively went to her hip to grab her sword, but it was missing. In fact, she realised as she analysed her inventory, it wasn’t the only thing missing.

_ Everything  _ was missing. 

No sword, no bow, no elytra, no food. No communicator.

No book from Doc.

False gazed around, making sure not to anger any endermen. She didn’t know how, but somehow, she had ended up on one of the outer islands of the End. Without an elytra, or any ender pearls. She was, to put it lightly, screwed. 

Now what?

There was no point in staying where she was. With the general temperature of the End being much lower than any location in the Overworld, if she didn’t start moving soon she’d freeze to death. That didn’t exactly sound enticing, so she began walking towards the centre of the island she had managed to spawn on. No tools meant no mining, so she couldn’t get any end stone to tower up to anywhere or bridge gaps between islands. Wels, if he even was still here -- if this even was Season 6, wasn’t much of an End-busting kind of man, so she wasn’t expecting to run into him anytime soon. She would have to figure out a way to get out of here herself...if only she had a communicator!

Fortunately, False seemed to have spawned on a fairly large island. She couldn't see across to the other side, so hopefully, she would be able to find something useful by scavenging for leftover materials. As she went along, she spotted a chest under a large chorus plant. Opening it, she found half a stack of golden carrots and an iron sword. Not great, but it was definitely better than nothing. She considered attempting to climb the plant for some chorus fruit, but she decided against it. If she fell and injured herself, she would be stuck here without anyone knowing where she was. That did  _ not  _ sound like a good way to go, and she wasn’t ready to die. 

False didn’t know how long she had been walking for. She was starting to run out of carrots, and she could really use some water. She’d even settle for some of Ren’s homebrewed beer of questionable origin at this point. 

“This is the largest outer island in existence,” she grumbled to herself. As chunks slowly became visible at the horizon, a moderately-sized End city came into view. Please,  _ please _ , let it be unraided. If False got lucky, she could get an elytra, and maybe some gear. With gear, she could get ender pearls. With pearls, she could get closer to a gateway. Please…

Approaching the city, she suddenly spotted cobblestone.

“Darn it!” 

False fell to her knees, punching the ground. Someone had been here. She had  _ nothing _ .

She was alone.

\--

_ FalseSymmetry joined the game. _

Wels stared at his communicator.

_ Welsknight: False? _

Nothing.

_ Welsknight: False, is that really you? _

Hours later, still nothing. It probably had been a bug, or the server got confused. Sighing, he shoved the communicator back into his inventory. Wishful thinking was what it was, nothing else.

He was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear: this fic will remain platonic; no romance!


	4. Strange Forces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> False continues her journey in the End. Wels gets some strange messages.

It would be very useful right now if she spoke Galactic, False thought to herself as she stared at the legs of the endermen surrounding her. Sure, endermen weren’t exactly known for their communication skills, but maybe she would be able to get some ender pearls from them in exchange for...anything? 

There was no point in sitting in front of the city though. Maybe the Hermit who had raided this city had left the elytra behind? Realistically, the chances of anyone leaving an elytra behind were near to zero, but she needed some hope to cling on to at this point. Sighing, she walked through the front entrance and began climbing the endless stairs of the End City. The only good thing about the city having been raided already was that she didn’t have to deal with shulkers without a bow. 

The first few floors she encountered were absolutely deserted. Even the end rods had been taken. False had tried opening two chests, but there was no point. They were all completely empty. She could feel the hunger starting to get to her as well, and she was steadily running out of carrots. Maybe she should have climbed that chorus plant after all. She was starting to get so, so tired. She already couldn't sprint anymore, and every jump upwards felt higher than the previous.  _ Please _ , let there be something useful somewhere in this stupid city. Even just a pickaxe would be great. Anything to get her off of this island. 

Using her arms to pull herself up to the top floor, False collapsed onto the purpur blocks. Her eyes were drooping and the whole room seemed to be spinning. She had no idea how long she had been in the End for, but it had been much too long. She could feel the hunger eating at her health and the cold seeping into her bones. This was it, wasn't it? 

This was how she was going to die.

"Wels, I'm sorry," she murmured.

_ FalseSymmetry starved to death.  _

\--

Wels gazed at his communicator. It had been two days since the server had announced that strange message, that False had come online. Now, a death message. Starving to death, though? He wasn't sure he had ever seen a fellow Hermit forget their food, well, ever.

He wasn't supposed to use the locate function of the server unless it was an emergency situation, but in case the server wasn't glitching and False truly was in Gehinnom without anyone to help her respawn, he needed to find her, as quickly as possible. 

_ Welsknight: /locate last FalseSymmetry _

_ Server: Last known location for FalseSymmetry -- 6538 112 -4167 DIM1 T+00:00:03 _

Dimension 1? The End? That made no sense! That had to be wrong. He tried again.

_ Welsknight: /locate last FalseSymmetry _

_ Server: Last known location for FalseSymmetry -- 6551 108 -4170 DIM1 T+00:00:04 _

The location was changing, but the server was still convinced False was in the End -- and not just in the End, but thousands of blocks from the portal. Wels wasn't sure Xisuma knew  _ he  _ knew these commands, but he needed to figure out what was going on.

_ Welsknight: /showtracker FalseSymmetry Welsknight _

_ Server: Unable to locate. Please check spelling. _

_ Welsknight: /showtracker FalseSymmetry Welsknight _

_ Server: Unable to locate. Please check spelling. _

_ FalseSymmetry didn't want to live in the same world as Unknown Entity. _

_ FalseSymmetry didn't want to live in the same world as Unknown Entity.  _

_ FalseSymmetry didn't want to live in the same world as Unknown Entity.  _

Wels had never seen that death message before, and it was repeating every few seconds. His communicator kept going off. Switching it to silent, he accessed the help files of the Hermit Communication Systems Array and looked up the meaning of the death messages.

"Appears when the player is hurt by a player or mob then killed by the void," he murmured to himself as he read the entry. But, according to the entry, the name of the player or mob should have shown in the message, not 'Unknown Entity'. What in the world was throwing False into the void? 

Wels pocketed his communicator and gazed at the Treat Your Chick chickens in front of him.

"Guess I'm going to the End, huh?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, a chapter on the shorter side. However, shorter chapters do mean more frequent updates. Let me know what you prefer!


	5. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wels searches for False in the End.

The moment Wels jumped through the End portal, cold surrounded him. Not wanting to have to deal with the local enderman population, he immediately closed his visor so they couldn't see his eyes. He gazed at his communicator to make sure he was heading in the right direction. In the time that it had taken him to get from Treat Your Chick to the End, seventeen new death messages had displayed. This was really bad. He approached the edge of the central island. With whatever was going on, he didn't want to chuck an ender pearl through a gateway and hope he ended up where he wanted to go. No, instead, he would fly to False's location. He had four stacks of rockets and some golden carrots; he would be okay. 

"Here goes nothing," he told himself, and jumped off of the island, with nothing but the void surrounding him. 

It was  _ so  _ cold in the End; it was such a strange contrast to anywhere else on the server. Even Stress’ ice palace wasn’t as cold as Wels’ current surroundings. He was grateful for his armour, as it trapped some of his body heat. He kept an eye on his coordinates, displayed in bright neon on his communicator. He was getting close now. Strangely enough, he couldn’t see any evidence of any Hermits ever having been here. Maybe the server had reset some of the outer chunks of the End. He recalled Xisuma having talked about such an event occurring quite regularly at some point or another. Wels wasn’t sure when though -- his memories of the days before waking up completely alone were becoming vaguer by the day. 

Then, suddenly, he spotted a familiar jacket on the ground, near the edge of the island he was flying across.

Wels immediately steered downwards, hitting the end stone with more force than he usually would. He scrambled over to False’s jacket, picking it up. It was dusty, but most definitely hers. 

But where was she?

Wels heard a soft groan, so quiet that he was almost convinced it was the wind blowing -- until he realised there shouldn’t be any gusts of wind in the End. The dimension was perfectly wind still. He carefully rushed over to the very edge of the island, peering down into the void. There, on a ledge a few blocks down, he could spot False on the ground. Unconscious.

“False! Oh my goodness!” 

Wels grabbed his pickaxe and carefully began making his way down to her. He dug out a two-wide staircase leading towards her inanimate body. As he got closer, he could see her face was bruised and bloodied, most likely because of her many deaths. Sure, Hermits respawned upon death, but that didn’t mean you were left unaffected by the damage you had suffered afterwards. Most Hermits had scars all over their bodies. He knew the redstoners had gotten themselves blown up quite a bit, and others had evidence of broken bones after falling out of the sky when their elytras broke. Cleo was covered in burn marks from being out in the sun too much. He himself bore traces of PVP deaths, falling off of cliffs and accidentally stepping into pools of lava. Nothing, though, hurt as bad as falling into the void. And False had now been pushed into the void -- he checked his communicator -- fifty-six times. She would be very lucky if she would still be able to walk when she woke up, Wels thought. 

Kneeling next to False’s still body, Wels gingerly removed the pieces of a broken helmet she seemed to have been wearing. Strange, he didn’t think he had ever seen False wearing a helmet ever before. Her clothing was torn, exposing her abdomen. Wels quickly put down his ender chest and rummaged through his things, pulling out a few healing potions and a spare chestplate. He uncorked the vial and poured it out over False’s worst wounds. She was in no state to be flying anyway, so he carefully removed a few torn scraps of bloodied fabric from her shoulders and secured the front half of the armour against her front. He pulled her upright, against his chest, so he could attach the back as well, protecting her from any further attacks. 

Speaking of attacks, he couldn’t see any evidence of  _ anything  _ having pushed her in. However, all the messages on his communicator had mentioned this  _ Unknown Entity _ . So...how could there be absolutely nothing here? 

Now, Wels realised, he needed to get False back to the Overworld. His main issue in achieving that, was that she still hadn’t woken up. If she had been awake, he could have handed her a few ender pearls. He could potentially put a pearl in her hand and help her thrown it through a return gate, but he wasn’t sure her body could take the hit from the teleport right now. He gazed at his elytra. Its durability was over eighty percent, and he had enchanted it with Unbreaking III, but he also knew elytras degenerated at nearly three times the normal speed if you were carrying an extra person. He didn’t have much of a choice though. It was much too dangerous to carry False’s unconscious body nearly 8000 blocks back to the portal. He would have to fly with her in his arms. 

Inside of his ender chest, Wels found two leashes. He used his sword to cut the loops, and carefully used them to secure False’s body against his. She was  _ so  _ cold, having died and respawned in the End so many times now. Just to be safe, he grabbed four stacks of rockets. Looking around one more time to make sure he hadn’t overlooked anything, he took off into the air.

In the distance, hidden in the blackness of the void, something smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm _so_ sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I really struggled with it. I hope you still liked it nevertheless -- I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	6. Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wels takes False back to the Overworld.

Just as Wels hit the grass in front of his manor, his elytra hit 1 durability. He exhaled a sigh of relief. He had made it home, with False still in his arms. He gazed down at her unconscious face. Her breathing was ragged, and every breath seemed to put an enormous strain on her body. If Xisuma was here, maybe Wels could have asked him if he knew how to get False some extra oxygen. Suddenly, he realised he had removed that strange helmet in the End -- it had looked exactly like X’s helmet, but red instead of green. Did False need that to breathe? He sure hoped not… 

Wels carried False up to the front door, and quickly made his way upstairs. He considered taking her to the double bedroom he had prepared for guests but decided against it. The master bedroom was larger and easier to reach, which meant jostling False less on his way to a bed to lay her down on. Gently, he lowered her body onto soft woollen blankets. 

"I'll be right back. I'm going to grab some potions and some milk." Wels had no idea whether False could hear him, but he said it anyway. He made it to his storage and back in record time. When he returned, False was still unconscious. The only indication that she was even still alive, was the wheezing attempts at breathing her body was making. Darn it, if only Joe was around; he might have known what to do. Or Xisuma, or Doc, or...anyone but him. He wasn't qualified to be doing this. Wels was a knight, a fighter, not a healer. 

The very least Wels could do was try. He grabbed a few clean towels from a nearby cabinet, soaking one of them in milk. He used it to carefully soothe False's skin. The marks and welts on her skin were unlike anything he had ever seen. Just in case she was experiencing negative status effects from them, he treated every bit of exposed skin with milk. 

"Sorry, False," Wels muttered under his breath as he removed her shirt. The wounds stretched across her chest, abdomen and continued onto her back. He quickly undressed her further, treating the lacerations and bruises on her legs. Once he was one hundred percent sure that he had covered them all, he washed his hands and began the process all over again, this time cleaning False's wounds with water until they were clear of dust and dirt. He covered them all with strips of white banners he had made a long time ago but never used. When he was done, he stared down at False on the bed. She needed some new clothing, but he wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to fly over to her base to pick some up; he didn’t want to leave her alone any longer than necessary. 

Wels ransacked his own closets instead, eventually retrieving an old pair of pyjamas. They would be much too large on False’s lithe figure, but it was better than nothing. He got the short-sleeved shirt over her head without disturbing her bandages too much, and used the drawstring to secure the shorts as much as possible. It would have to do. He covered False with a light blanket and removed his own armour. Gazing at the room they were currently in, his bedroom, he realised he hadn’t built a chair in here. Oh well. Wels dropped a pillow onto the floor and sat down, leaning back against the bed. He pulled a book he had borrowed from Joe’s base out of his inventory and began reading. All he could do now was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been...very short, but it's because it didn't feel right to combine this scene with the next. Thank you so much for sticking with me!


	7. Progression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wels sits with False. Cleo makes a decision.

All afternoon and the early evening, False remained motionless, except for the occasional coughing fits that were so bad Welse was convinced she would produce blood at some point. He would carefully pull her upright, supporting the weight of False's torso with his arms, until her breathing returned to the wheezing, ragged rhythm he had almost gotten used to. Wels sighed, watching as the sun set through the window.

"Come on, False, please wake up," he murmured. 

Suddenly, for the first time since Wels had spotted False in the End, she groaned and visibly winced.

“False?” Wels tried again, gently touching the back of her hand. False groaned again. “False, if you can hear me, please let me know.” Wels held his breath, staring at the young woman in his bed.

“Mhmm,” came the almost inaudible reply through False’s gritted teeth. She opened blood-shot eyes to meet Wels’ gaze. “Wha--” she began, but her dry throat protested against the speaking, sending her into another coughing fit. Wels quickly pulled her upright, rubbing circles on her upper back.

“Easy…” he soothed. “Calm, deep breaths.” He produced a bottle of water from his inventory and put it in False’s shaking hands. “You’ve been out for a while.” False quickly downed the contents, the cool liquid calming her angry throat.

“What happened?” she asked Wels, handing him the empty bottle.

“I...don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I…” He figured it was probably best if he told her the entire story, from the day it had all started.

"A while ago, I’m not sure how long exactly, but it’s more than sixty days, I woke up and everyone was just...gone. At first I thought maybe everyone had pulled an all-nighter and was still asleep, but two days went by and no-one showed up. I tried using my communicator to locate people, but the server couldn’t find anyone, not even Xisuma. So, I decided the least I could do was take care of everything until everyone returned -- if they were ever going to return. For the last few weeks, I’ve spent my days making sure all the animals had food and water, that all the villagers had enough to go around. I’ve tried to keep all the buildings clean and mob-free, though I failed pretty drastically in Sahara’s warehouse. There’s a big creeper hole in one of the walls there now. I hope Mumbo and Iskall won’t be too upset. Anyway, I’ve been by myself for a while, and then suddenly you appeared on my communicator, but you weren’t replying. But, death messages for you kept on going off, over and over and over. I used the communicator to locate you, and you were in the End, thousands of blocks from the main island. I flew over there, and I found you on the edge of an outer island, starving and bleeding. I took you back to the Overworld, treated your wounds the best I could and...now we're here."

Wels felt like he had told False the entire tale without ever taking a breath in between. Speaking of breaths, he suddenly noticed False was still struggling to breathe. 

"Where's…" she started, wheezing between words, "the helmet I was wearing?"

"It was shattered," he replied. "I left the pieces in the End. False, what's going on? Where  _ is  _ everyone?"

"You may...want to sit down...for that."

\--

_ ZombieCleo: Has anyone seen False? _

_ Stressmonster101: not recently luv, sorry _

_ JoeHillsTSD: I have not seen FalseSymmetry lately, Cleo. _

_ MumboJumbo: Uh, no. _

_ Iskall85: You haven't been out of your industrial district Mumbo. You haven't seen anyone. Period. _

_ Grian: xD _

_ Grian: i haven't seen her either. _

_ Keralis: no idea where she is! why? _

_ ZombieCleo: I need some white terracotta and wanted to place an order.  _

_ ZombieCleo: I'll just go to the mesa instead.  _

_ Rendog: How much do you need? I'm there now. _

_ ZombieCleo: ...a shulker? _

_ Rendog: You owe me an armour stand scene! ;) _

_ ZombieCleo: Deal! _

It didn't sit right with Cleo. She hadn't seen False in days. No group chat messages, no 'good night's in the girls' group chat, no blonde hair whizzing through the shopping district. It was strange. It wasn't like False. Sure, she could be sequestered at times, as could all the Hermits, but not like this. Making up her mind, Cleo locked the doors of her zoo exhibits and lifted off into the air. She was going to find False.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! (If anyone is even still reading this at all, as I don't think anyone is. 😅)


	8. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wels and False talk strategies. Cleo interrogates someone.

Wels felt like he was about to faint. Season seven? But what about this season? What about the Treat Your Chicks, all the animals, the villagers?

“It’s the natural cycle,” False replied, still taking wheezing breaths between each word. “We move to a new world, and let the old world return to the Void.” Had he said that out loud?

“How do we get there?” he decided to ask.

“Doc gave me instructions in a book, but everything I had on me was gone when I made it back here. Is there an Infinity Portal at Area 77, still?” False held a spare piece of white wool t her mouth as she coughed. Small specks of red appeared on the fabric. 

“I don’t know,” Wels admitted. He hadn’t really explored Area 77 -- taking care of the server took up most of his day. “But we can find out, once you’ve rested properly.”

“No!” False protested. She sat up straight, lungs burning. “We don’t have much time before the server self-destructs. We need to start working on our extraction, or we’ll die. Permanently.”

“You can’t even sit up, let alone walk or fly!” At that, False let herself fall back against the mattress again. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“I was supposed to come save you, and now I’m useless.”

“You’re not useless,” Wels soothed. “How about…” He thought for a moment. “...you promise to rest up some more while I go feed the animals in the shopping district, and try to think of a solution.” False huffed.

“Fine.” 

It was a deal.

\--

“Tell me where she is, damn it!”

That was  _ not  _ what Doc had expected to hear when he saw Cleo approaching his half house.

“Excuse me? Where who--”

Before he could finish his sentence, a very furious zombie already had the tip of a dagger pressed against his abdomen, and her claws were just not piercing the skin of his neck.

“I went looking for False,” she explained through gritted teeth. “And what do I find at the bottom of her base but a  _ blown-up interdimensional portal _ ?!” 

He knew one of them should have cleaned that up before they went home.

“Cleo, I have no idea what you’re--”

“Save it.” The dagger pressed further into his stomach. “You and I both know you’re the only one on the server who knows how to build one of those Hellish contraptions. So tell me. Where. Did. You. Send. Her?”

“She asked to go,” Doc spluttered. “False asked to go! Do you think I felt comfortable sending her to an unstable dimension? Of course not! But we couldn’t leave him there now could we?!” He hissed quietly, unable to keep still. At the soft sound, Cleo seemed to suddenly realise what she was doing. Her eyes cooled down from a burning red to their usual green.

“Leave who, where, Doc?” she asked, loosening her grip on his neck. He quickly raised his hand to rub the now-irritated skin. 

“Leave Wels in Season 6.”

“Wha--” Cleo froze. “She went back a season?”

“To get Wels. He never went through the original Infinity Portal when we all did. False got Xisuma to ask me to build a portal back to Season 6. Scar gave her some blessings and spells, and that was that. The server Wels is on will self-destruct seven days after her departure.” The dagger at his stomach returned to Cleo’s belt. 

“How long has she been gone?”

“Five days and eleven hours.” 

“Doc…” Cleo gazed up at him. “You and I both know what happens when someone goes to a dimension they don’t technically belong in.” Doc nodded. “But...does False know? Does she know what it is probably doing to her body right now?! Does she know the risk?”

“I wanted to tell her, but she wouldn’t listen. She said she wouldn’t let me talk her out of it.”

“Does that matter? I can’t imagine she would want to go through…” Cleo choked on her next word. Doc grabbed her hand.

“We don’t know if that is always how it works, Cleo. We don’t know if what will happen to her is the same as…”

“As what happened to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am _so_ sorry this installment has taken me this long. Real-life has been...you know, real life, which meant I wasn't in the mood for writing anything other than fluff, and this fic isn't exactly...fluff. I'm starting to get back into the right writing mood though, so hopefully, I'll be back full-force really soon!
> 
> And yes, Doc has a soft spot for the girls. I don't make the rules!
> 
> By the way, though I don't really have Tumblr or Discord or any other form of social media, I **do** take prompts/requests, in case you would like to see something in particular! I will write any ship, romantic, platonic or sexual, solo, F/F, M/M, F/M, threesomes, foursomes, polyHermits, A/B/O, et cetera. I also don't mind writing anyone as non-cisgender. The only things I will not write are large amounts of physical violence, underage/adult-child romance or smut, non-con/dubcon, or anything involving hospitals. So. Yeah. This A/N turned out longer than I intended to, whoops!


	9. Thermodynamics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wels has a solution. False has some time to think. Cleo and Doc consider their options.

"This is not...what I meant...by a solution," False commented as she saw what Wels had dragged to his house, leaning on the doorway for support. Her legs were shaky, but they were holding her up -- for now at least. Just getting downstairs had cost her almost all her energy. She  _ knew _ she wouldn't be able to walk or fly, but this? "Why a llama? Why not a horse?"

"Because you wouldn't be able to hold the reins. Besides, it's cute!" Wels ran a hand along the neck of the camelid. "It's got an adorable cyan blanket."

False had to admit, there was something endearing about the animal.

"Fine. Help me up, please?" Within seconds, Wels was at her side, boosting her onto the llama. Every wound on her body screamed at the jostling, but False grit her teeth and steadied her breathing as much as she could.

"Here." Wels used some lengths of fabric -- were those banners? -- to secure her thighs and hips against the soft, warm body of the llama. "I tried to get it to put on a saddle, but it refused." Grabbing a leash from his inventory, he attached it loosely around the neck of the animal. "Ready? We'll go through to the Nether hub, and we'll use the tunnel to get to Falsewell, because I'm not sure where the Area 77 portal is, yeah?" False nodded.

"Ready."

The llama was surprisingly fast, happy to trot through the Nether tunnels. 

"You're a brave one," False complimented it as a ghast screeched in the distance somewhere. 

"Inspired by its passenger," Welse commented in return. False blushed, grateful she would be able to blame her red cheeks on the heat of the Nether...or on the fever she was pretty certain she was developing. She wasn't going to tell Wels about that, though. He was worried enough as it was, glancing back at her every few blocks. "Just making sure the llama is still following me," he had lied, as if False wouldn't warn him the moment it didn't. False understood, but it frustrated her as well. Here she was, supposedly to save Wels from permadeath, and instead he was having to drag her along on a freaking llama. She felt useless. She  _ was  _ useless. False sighed.

"Emerald for your thoughts?" Wels had halted, and was staring at her, his head tilted slightly to the side.

"It's nothing," she fibbed. Wels didn't seem to believe her, but he continued down the hallway again nevertheless. 

\--

"Can you get me to them?" Cleo asked Doc. The creeper hybrid nearly tripped and fell, grabbing onto a ledge to stay upright. 

"Are you insane?" he responded. "Xisuma would  _ kill  _ me."

"Not if I killed you first for causing False's permadeath," Cleo said sing-songy, but Doc had a strong feeling the zombie was being serious. He could still feel her claws at his throat, even now that she had retracted them again. "I don't breathe. It wouldn't be able to hurt me." 

'Again,' Doc thought. 'It wouldn't be able to hurt you _again_.'

"Plus…" Cleo sighed. "Worst comes to worst, I could turn False."

"You would seriously consider doing that?" Doc asked. His mind thought of an unconscious redheaded girl brought to his clinic years ago, not breathing, eyes and throat filled with stardust. A body so tired, having reached total entropy. Whenever Cleo spoke, he sometimes swore he could still see the thick, dark matter. 

"If it were to save her from the Void? Yes, without a doubt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Llamas can generally only carry a weight of about 30% of their own body weight, but False isn't too large, so I'm saying this was a particularly strong good boy llama.
> 
> \--
> 
> Up next: What happened to Cleo all those years ago? And why does False's coughing seem to be getting worse?
> 
> Let me know your thoughts? All comments are incredibly appreciated, and they help motivate me (and other authors too!!) to update faster -- even if it's just a keysmash or an '<3'! Thank you in advance! x Belle


	10. History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wels and False are in the Nether. Doc revisits a memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the summary, hopefully it fits the fic a little better now!

_ ZombieCleo joined the game. _

Wels and False stared at the communicator in Wels' hand.

"That can't be right," he murmured. 

"There's...no way," False concurred.

_ ZombieCleo: Wels? False? _

If it hadn't been for the fabric tied around her waist, False would have fallen off of the llama. 

\--

_ Seventeen Years Ago _

"Doc! Doc!" Incessant banging on the iron doors protecting his lab and clinic from mobs brought Doc out of his thoughts. Groaning, he yelled: "WHAT?" towards the source of the noise.

"It's an emergency, please!" Doc sighed. 

"I'm coming; I'm coming!" He got up from his desk, pages of an as of yet unfinished research report falling onto the wooden floor. Pulling on a lever to his side, he disabled the security system and opened the door. A young man who lived a few doors down stood in front of his clinic, absolutely drenched. Outside, a few feet away in the pouring rain, he saw his neighbours standing in a circle around something on the ground. “What’s going on?” Doc asked.

“You should come and see for yourself,” the man replied. He grabbed Doc’s arm and dragged him over to the rest of the people present. As the circle parted, a young woman came into view. She was lying on the dirt and grass, unconscious. Her red hair covered her face and her clothing was covered in blood and grime.

“ _ Verdammt _ ,” Doc muttered. He looked at the men present and motioned towards two young men, no older than twenty. “You two, help me get her into the clinic.” He then turned his head to face the village elder, an older woman with long grey hair covered by a dark scarf. “I’d appreciate your assistance, Morwen. Everyone else, scatter! I don’t want to have to treat you for being struck by lightning!” 

Quickly, the two men and Doc lifted the unconscious woman up from the dirt which had long become mud, and carried her into the clinic. Morwen followed behind, gazing up at the sky before she entered the moderately-sized building. They laid her down on one of the beds in the small ward of the clinic.

“Light the fire, please,” Doc told one of the men. “And please grab some water from the well.” Nodding, both men set off to do the tasks given to them. Doc himself might not be sensitive to the cold, but the girl was incredibly pale.

“This is no ordinary affliction, Doc,” Morwen murmured. “But since you asked me for assistance, I suspect you already figured that out.” Doc nodded at the woman. 

“Have you seen this before?” he asked, brushing the red curls out of the unconscious woman’s face so he could inspect her better. 

“Not personally, no, but I’ve heard of it.” Before she could continue, Morwen was interrupted by the men returning. They placed four buckets of clean water on the floor, as well as one of milk and some pieces of wool.

“We weren’t sure if you might need this, but better safe than sorry,” the taller of the two explained. Doc nodded at them.

“Thank you, gentlemen. You can head home now.”

“Will she be alright?” the younger one asked. Doc grunted.

“I’ll do my best. Now head on home to your mother, Xisuma.” Nodding, the young man dragged his companion out of the clinic, closing the door behind them.

As Doc grabbed some wool, dipping it in the water to clean the grime from his patient’s skin, he asked: “You were saying, Morwen?” The fire crackled from the other side of the room, coating everything in a golden glow.

“Check her eyes, Doc. Open them -- carefully,” the woman instructed. “Wear gloves.”

“I’m fresh out of gloves,” Doc admitted. “But it’s fine; Creepers can’t get human diseases.” He reached out to open the young woman’s eyes, but Morwen slapped his hand to the side.

“No!” she exclaimed. “This is no human disease, Doc; this could affect you just as well. Let me.”

“Oh, because you’re immune?” Doc shook his head. “Let me do my job, Morwen.” He tried to move towards the girl’s face again, but Morwen shoved him aside. 

“I am indeed immune, because I was exposed a long time ago, you stubborn idiot.” Doc wasn’t sure he had ever heard the village elder call anyone an idiot. Reaching for her scarf, Morwen lowered it, exposing her neck as she did. She swept her hair to the side and revealed a harsh-looking wound, its edges necrotic and swollen. Doc could see the tendons of her neck.

“What the…” 

“Have you ever wondered why I am never in the sun?” Morwen asked. “Why I use unenchanted equipment; why I never kill a mob?”

“I know that you’re a witch, Morwen, if that’s what you’re asking.” Doc was losing patience by the second. There was an unconscious woman in his clinic, and Morwen was wasting his time by making him play a guessing game.

“But I wasn’t born one, Doc. I was born a human. Another witch found me, attacked in a similar fashion as this girl here, and saved my life by turning me.”

“What is this, then?” Doc asked. “Stop playing games and just tell me.” 

Morwen reached out and opened the young woman’s eyes. Instead of pupils and irises, Doc was met with a blackness so deep he wasn’t sure he had ever seen it before.

“It will be in her throat and blood too,” Morwen stated. “This, is stardust. Put there by the Void Dwellers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Two new chapters within 4 days? Belle, what's this?" This is university starting again, which means that I have immediately started procrastinating through writing, as one does. ;)


	11. Doomed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cleo arrives. Xisuma gets waken up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: hints of a panic attack, nothing explicit.

They met her outside of the museum in Falsewell after she had stopped by her base to grab her gear, a flurry of red hair landing in front of the large building with a huff.

“Wels!” Cleo called out, pulling him in for a hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“What,” False began, but a coughing fit interrupted her question.

“Am I doing here?” Cleo filled in. Not waiting for False to nod, she answered: “I’m here to save both of you.”

“What are you talking about?” Wels asked, letting his right hand rest on the small of False’s back. “We’re going to go through the portal and we’ll be fine. Right?” Cleo didn’t reply. “Right?!” Sighing, the zombie shook her head.

“Let’s just get to Area 77.”

After instructing Wels on how to open the gates, False guided Cleo and him to the location of the infinity portal. When they got there, however, her heart sank into her stomach.

“No…” 

The portal had seemingly exploded, just a single diamond-block remaining in place. Everything else was gone.

“Damn it!” Cleo cursed. “We  _ need  _ to get to the other side, before…” She grunted in frustration. 

“Maybe Doc has written it down somewhere?” Wels offered. “We could try searching the hangar?” Both women nodded.

“Yeah, let’s try that.”

\--

Xisuma woke to incessant knocking on his bedroom door. Having disabled single-player sleep until Cleo, False and Wels returned, to give them more time -- much to Bdubs’ dismay -- meant actually having to lay in a bed at night. He pulled his helmet over his head, disabling the void air in his bedroom, before moving to open it. On the other side, he found a very frazzled-looking creeper hybrid.

“Doc?” he wondered, mind still half-asleep. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this,” the other man immediately admitted, his voice breaking. Xisuma motioned for him to come inside. He was absolutely soaked to the bone. A quick glance outside told him there was a thunderstorm going on.

“What were you doing out? You could’ve gotten charged!” he chastised Doc. It wouldn’t be the first time either Doc or Python had gotten struck by lightning and promptly blown up half the shopping district. 

“I can’t save her!” Doc exclaimed.

“You’re not making any sense. Sit down,” Xisuma instructed him. He grabbed a regen potion just in case, handing it to Doc. The hybrid downed it in one go, making a face at the taste.

“I was preparing everything for their return. Quarantine area, hospital bed, the works,” Doc explained. Xisuma hummed quietly to let him know he was listening. “But then I realised: I don’t know how to treat stardust.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know how to treat stardust?” Xisuma asked, standing up. “You treated Cleo! And didn’t you check Grian over?” Doc shook his head.

“Morwen cured Cleo. Biffa took care of Grian. And he’s been missing for years now.” Xisuma swallowed back a sob, pain shooting through his chest at the mention of Biffa. 

“What about Morwen? Could we reach her?” he wondered. Doc shook his head once more.

“Her player died a long time ago.” He took a shaky breath. “Xisuma, even if they make it back...False will be a dead woman.”

For the first time in his life, Xisuma cursed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am _so_ sorry this has taken so long. I really struggled with this chapter, and I haven't been in the greatest mental space over the past couple of weeks/months. The next one hopefully shouldn't take this long, and will be longer as well. Thank you so much for sticking with me, if you'd made it this far! I really appreciate it. <3


	12. Drawback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A portal opens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> drawback: the way in which the ocean may recede before a tsunami strikes

"You've got to be kidding me," Cleo murmured as she examined a book and quill from Doc's lab. "Galactic? He wrote everything in  _ Galactic _ ?!"

"May I?" Wels asked, holding out his hand. He gazed at the page, murmuring: "T⍑╎ᓭ !¡ꖎᔑリꖌ ∴ᔑᓭ ᒲᔑ↸ᒷ ⎓𝙹∷ ∴ᔑꖎꖌ╎リ⊣ 𝙹リ. Sᓵ∷ᒷᒷリ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ !¡𝙹∷ᓵ⍑ ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ∴𝙹⍊ᒷリ ᓭℸ ̣ ∷ᔑ∴ ᒲᔑℸ ̣ ᓭ." He shook his head. "This isn't it." 

"You know Galactic?" Cleo wondered.

"You don't?" Wels countered. "I thought zombies…" When Cleo turned her face away, he dropped his question, instead clearing his throat and replying: "Yeah. I learnt it in the military." 

After a weighted moment of silence, False held up another piece of paper. It was crumpled, and the ink was smeared, but the hand-drawn diagram definitely looked like an infinity portal.

"How about this?" she asked, holding it out for Wels to grab. Just as he was about to take it from her, he froze, staring at False's face.

"What the…" he murmured. Cleo looked up, head snapping in the same direction. 

"Oh no." 

False's irises were no longer blue. 

Instead, they looked just like the Void.

\--

The ground trembled. Sheep and cows bleated and mooed while parrots fled into the depths of the jungle. Villagers closed their shops, opting to hide in their houses instead. The water on the shoreline of the shopping district retreated a few blocks, and the world went completely silent.

The only creatures brave enough to step out of their bases, were the Hermits.

_ Docm77: Someone’s coming. _ _  
_ _ Xisumavoid: Let’s hope they’re not alone. _ _  
_ _ Docm77: You might want to revise that statement. _ _  
_ _ Docm77: Let’s hope they’re not bringing anything along. _ _  
_ _ Xisumavoid: Can you track the signal? _ _  
_ _ Docm77: Already on it. _ _  
_ _ Docm77: The vibrations are coming from a central point.  _ __  
_ Docm77: It’s Cleo’s zoo. _ _  
_ __ Xisumavoid: I’ll get Scar and meet you there.

Whereas the Infinity Portal in season 6 had looked bright and shiny, what had opened now just under the entrance to Cleo’s zoo was terrifying. The portal frame was just narrow enough to let a Hermit pass through, built up of something that reminded Doc of gilded blackstone, but with dark red blood running through it instead of the shiny yellow metal. The portal itself was swirling a murky green, and instead of the comforting humming sound of the Nether, it felt like a screeching white noise was messing with his brain. 

“Is this what it’s supposed to look like?” Xisuma asked, staring at the infernal portal. Scar stood behind him, hiding behind the admin’s painted armour. Doc shook his head.

“No. This is not what it should look like at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was stuck on this chapter for a very long time; I'm sorry it's taken so long!


	13. Event Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something comes through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: mentions of injury, medical emergencies, terminal illness. If you'd rather skip the chapter, there's a summarized version of it in the end notes.

A screeching sound pierced the air. It reminded Doc of the scream of an aggravated enderman, but louder and more distorted. Instinctively, he went to stand in front of Scar and Xisuma, hissing quietly. The portal seemed to be sucking all the light out of its surroundings. The sky above them turned a deep black.

Suddenly, the portal exploded.

The three men were flung against one of the pillars of Cleo's gate, all wheezing as they attempted to catch their breath. Xisuma was the first to recover, his armour having protected his chest somewhat. The admin quickly smashed two splash potions of healing onto the two others. Scar groaned as the potion re-set his bones and undid the blunt force injuries. 

A small crater had formed where the portal had been. The ground looked and smelled scorched. In the epicentre, Doc could spot three bodies.

"Oh my stars," Xisuma murmured. Cleo was scrambling to her feet, looking pale but fairly okay. She was pulling Wels up as well. He had a large gash on his cheek and his armour was dented, but it seemed to have protected him from the worst. In between them, though, False was face-down on the dirt, her right arm twisted in a way that shouldn't be possible. 

"Don't touch her," Cleo warned them. "I've got her." She knelt down, gathering False's limp body in her arms and lifted her up, supported by Wels.

"Is there anywhere we can lay her down?" Doc asked. Cleo hesitated. 

"My base isn't exactly designed for comfort," she admitted. 

"We need a somewhat quarantined room," Doc decided. 

"How about  _ Stargazers _ ?" Scar suggested quietly. "That bedroom is sterile, and can be closed off." When Doc nodded at him, he grabbed his communicator. "I'll message Cub too; I'll tell him to close off the area and keep everyone else out." Xisuma gazed at Cleo.

"Can you fly, with her?" 

"I think so, yeah," she responded. Xisuma produced two extra elytras from his ender chest, handing them and two stacks of rockets to Wels and Cleo. As much as he wanted to hug Wels and catch up with him, they needed to tend to False right now. 

"I'm going to grab my medical supplies from my base. I'll meet you there," Doc commented. He quickly took off, speeding towards Cleo's nether portal. 

"Let's get her over to  _ Stargazers _ ," Xisuma decided.

At  _ Stargazers _ , the group was met by a very concerned Bdubs, who let them into the bedroom.

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

"Could you grab us two of every potion Stress sells?" Doc asked. "We'll take care of the payment later."

"You got it!"

As the group of Hermits stared at False, unconscious in the bed, Doc couldn't help but sigh. He put on gloves to protect himself and hooked her up to a heart monitor, and though the rhythm of the beeping was slow, it was steady. 

"Xisuma, can you run admin diagnostics on her?" he asked as he used a splint to set her arm. That did  _ not  _ look good. When...if, she made it out of this, he would probably have to operate to help the bones heal.

"Health is at thirty percent," Xisuma announced, his visor now obscured by admin code. "I can't ping her. She's got a status effect, hold on. I don't know what this means; give me a minute." He was muttering under his breath in a language Doc didn't recognise. It wasn't Player, nor was it Galactic. 

"Can I do anything?" Wels asked from behind him. 

"Hold this up?" Doc asked, handing him a bottle of saline that he connected to an IV in False's good arm. Wels nodded, the knight coming over to stand at attention at her bedside.

"She's...withering," Xisuma finally announced. "Slower than usual. Health is at twenty-eight percent. And...her spawning protocol is disabled. I can't override it either."

"Does that mean…?" Cleo asked quietly.

"Permadeath," Doc deduced. " _ Verdammt _ !" he cursed, punching the wall behind the bed. "I don't know how to fix this! I only know two people who do. One is dead, and the other is Biffa!"

"Is she...going to die?" Cleo whispered. 

Silence filled the room, broken only by the slow beeping of the heart monitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter summary: Cleo, False and Wels get to season 7. False is unconscious and slowly dying. Scar, Xisuma and Doc take her to Stargazers. Doc doesn't know how to cure her.


	14. Memories

As the beeping continued to slow down, someone cleared their voice.

“I think...I know how to help False.” 

Everyone in the room turned to face Xisuma, who closed his admin screens, his eyes becoming visible behind his visor again.

“What? How?” Doc asked.

\--

_ Seventeen years ago _

“We weren’t sure if you might need this, but better safe than sorry,” Xisuma explained as he and Exequiel handed over the buckets of water, milk, and the wool they had gathered in a hurry to help the redheaded stranger their neighbours had found unconscious in the rain. Doc nodded at them.

“Thank you, gentlemen. You can head home now.”

“Will she be alright?” Xisuma asked. Doc grunted.

“I’ll do my best. Now head on home to your mother, Xisuma.” Nodding, the young man dragged his brother out of the clinic, closing the door behind them. The storm howled around them, wind banging against the shutters. Xisuma reached into his inventory, searching for the key to the home they shared with their mother, Xalina.

“Looking for this?” Exequiel dangled something in front of his face, smirking at him through his bangs that were covering his face due to the rain. “Ten hut!” Before Xisuma could do anything, he had chucked the named iron ingot into the bushes lining the side walls of the clinic. 

“You’re awful, Ex!” Xisuma exclaimed, pushing at his brother’s chest. Exequiel stumbled backwards, landing in the middle of a puddle. He still grinned at Xisuma. 

“Not just awful; I’m positively evil!” Rolling his eyes, Xisuma sighed. 

“You can walk yourself home then, Evil Ex. I’m not sharing my umbrella with you now.” He ducked his head as far into his coat as he could, bracing himself as he ventured into the bushes. Damn Doc and his attention to detail; there was greenery everywhere here. It was going to take him forever to find his key here without light, and he didn’t have anything on him. He would have to head back in and ask Doc if he could borrow a torch. His mother would be asleep already; there was no way he was getting inside without it. 

As he wandered back into the clinic, Xisuma looked around. There weren’t any chests lying around that he could check. He really didn’t want to disturb Doc, but he also couldn’t just sleep out in the rain; his mother would worry even more than she already did if she found out. He ventured further into the clinic, past the reception area, into the treatment ward. He froze in the doorway when he spotted Doc and Morwen, their village elder, standing by one of the beds. The stranger was still unconscious, and Xisuma watched as Morwen carefully opened her eyes. He had to suppress a gasp. The insides of her eyes looked just like the night sky -- like his mother had told him the Void looked like. He knew he was an Ender being, but he had been too young when his mother had fled to the Overworld with him and Ex to remember what it looked like. 

“It will be in her throat and blood too,” Morwen stated. “This is stardust. Put there by the Void Dwellers.”

“Void Dwellers?” Doc asked, having taken a step backwards from the bed. Morwen hummed.

“Hm, yes. They chase those who enter worlds they do not belong in.”

“You’re suggesting she came here from a different world?”

“That’s the only cause I know of,” Morwen replied. “It’s how I got mine.”

“You weren’t spawned in this world?” Doc asked. “I never knew…”

“I…” Morwen sighed. “The reasons for my actions aren’t important. Just know that I had to flee my home, and this world took me in as a refugee. The Void Dwellers don’t like world jumping without going through the proper channels first, though. They punish those who do, by attacking them until they’re weak enough to get the stardust into their system. Then, they are doomed to die a painful death, and become Dwellers themselves.”

“But...you’re still here.”

“The witch who changed me? She saved me by doing that. Mobs are immune to stardust. Hybrids, however, are not.” Morwen sighed, grabbing the bucket of milk Xisuma had brought them earlier. She wet a piece of wool, and began cleaning the stranger’s skin and eyes with it. “Milk can freeze the effect, but we’ll have to find someone willing to turn her eventually.”

“Can’t you?” Doc asked. “You’re a witch, right? Can you turn her?” Morwen chuckled, shaking her head.

“In the past, perhaps, but I’m too weak now. I don’t have that many seasons left in me, Doc.” Sighing, she murmured: “Maybe…” She reached into her inventory, producing a vial of something that swirled a sickly green. “Try this.”

“What in the world is that?” Doc asked, accepting it from her.

“Zombie saliva extract.”

“I’m...not going to question why you’ve just got that on you,” Doc decided.

“Can you turn it into an IV drip?” Morwen asked. “She’s going to need it directly into her bloodstream.” Doc nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll get right to it.” He walked off into a different room, which Xisuma assumed was his lab.

Suddenly, Morwen glanced towards the doorway, where she spotted Xisuma.

“Young Xisuma, what’s the matter?”

“I…” Xiusma swallowed back the lump in his throat. “Exequiel tossed my keys into Doc’s yard, and I came in looking for a torch.” The elderly woman shook her head.

“That brother of yours; he’ll be a real menace one of these days if your darling mother doesn’t get him under control.” She took out a lantern from her inventory and handed it to him. “Here, you may keep this one.”

“Thank you, Morwen,” Xisuma replied, gladly taking it from her. “Is...is she going to die?” 

“No, dear boy,” Morwen replied. “She’ll become a zombie, but she’ll retain her own brain and memories.”

“So there’s no real cure?” Xisuma wondered. Morwen sighed.

“There is one remedy,” she murmured. Gazing at him, she paused.

“Please, Morwen, I can take it. Please tell me.” 

“I hope you never have to use it, but the one thing that can truly stop stardust, is the blood of an evolved Ender being.”

“Like me?” Xisuma wondered, already beginning to bare his arm, but Morwen stopped him.

“Only once you’ve evolved. You know the way your mother has to go to the End every day?” Xisuma nodded. “Just like her, you and Exequiel will at some point need Void air. Your lungs will not be able to filter Overworld air your entire lives. Once you’re at that point, and only then, your blood will cure stardust. It won’t undo the damage that’s already been done, but it will stop it from progressing, permanently.”

“I can go ask my mother for her blood!” Xisuma immediately replied. Morwen grabbed his forearm.

“You will not. She’s weak enough as it is. The zombie extract will cure it too. Just remember this for the future, in case you ever need to take in another refugee like this one.” Xisuma gazed down at the woman in the bed. If he ever became an admin, he would vow to protect his people so they never would have to flee their homes, no matter what. “Now, go grab your key and head on home to your mother.” Morwen squeezed his shoulder.

“Yes, ma’am.” Taking a deep breath, Xisuma left the clinic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter of this fic so far, but I couldn't figure out where to break it in half. I hope you didn't mind!


	15. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> False wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: False expresses some slight internalized ableism.

The first thing False felt was an intense, burning pain in her arm and her neck. Groaning, she tried to move away from the source of the sensation, but something was holding her back. She wanted to open her eyes, but it felt like her eyelids were the weight of a stack of concrete.

“Wha--” she tried to ask, but a coughing fit overtook her. She could feel liquid in her mouth; the taste of iron on her tongue.

“She’s awake!” someone, a man, exclaimed. False knew that voice, she just couldn’t remember who it was. “I’ll go get Doc!” A hand grasped her own. It was cool; it didn’t feel human. Who did she know who wasn’t a human?

“I’m here,” a different voice spoke. This one was female. “Don’t try to speak.”  _ Cleo _ . 

“Cleo…” False managed to croak. She could hear Cleo let out a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m here, stubborn girl. Everyone’s here, really. We’ve all been waiting for you to wake up.”

“Hurts…” False complained. 

“I know it does,” Cleo confirmed, stroking the back of False’s hand. “But it needs to stay in for a little longer.” Before False could ask what Cleo was talking about, the male voice returned, together with another, lower voice.  _ Doc. _

“Thanks, Joe,” Doc murmured. Oh, so that was who the other person had been. “False, can you hear me?” False tried to nod, but it made her head spin. Instead, she offered him a  _ mhmm _ in response. “Okay, good. Do you know where you are?”

“Seven?” False asked.

“Yes, you’re in Season Seven. You did it, Falsie; you brought Wels back to us.” Oh, good, that was good, wasn’t it? That had been her goal, right? Then why was she stuck here, unable to move? “Now, there’s a bunch of bandaging on your eyes. I’m going to remove them, to see if you can open them.” Oh, that explained things. “Joe, lower the lights, please?” False could hear Joe break a few blocks. End rods? “Okay, here we go.” Calloused fingers touched her pounding temples, and False made a face. “I’m sorry, Falsie. This might be uncomfortable.” As Doc pulled the bandaging away, some of it stuck to her eyelashes, and False couldn’t suppress a pained cry. “There, done.” Cool fingers rested on her cheek and wiped her eyes clean of whatever was sticking to them. 

“Can you try opening your eyes?” Cleo asked. False hummed. Maybe. She could try, at the very least. Blinking, her eyes tried to adapt to the light. Everything seemed out of focus, but she could see Cleo’s red hair and Doc’s green creeper skin. His eye glowed a comforting shade of red.

“There you go,” Doc encouraged her. “That’s great.” 

“I…” False began, but her throat protested again. 

“Here.” Cleo pressed an ice chip against her lips, and False let the cool substance melt in her mouth. It soothed the raw feeling. 

“What happened?” she managed to ask after a few more chips. 

“You…” Cleo gazed at Doc, who nodded. “You got sick, in Season Six, and when you got back here, you were unconscious. You...were dying.”

“You...saved me?” False asked. Doc was truly amazing, in that case. To her surprise, Doc shook his head.

“I didn’t know how to. But Xisuma, he did. There’s an IV in your neck, with his blood. It’s what’s brought you back to us.”

“How long,” False asked, having to cough in between, “have I been out of it?” Everyone was finally starting to become focused again. She could now see Cleo’s worried smile, the machinery she was connected to, and the tubes and wires going into her body. She was in Toon Towers, she realised.

“Two months.”

\--

_ Six months later _

“Come on, one more step; I know you can do it!” False shot Ren a death glare. Taking a deep breath, she tried to lift her leg, but instead, she lost her balance as her knees gave way. If it hadn’t been for Grian and Cub at her sides, who immediately caught her, she would have fallen into the waist-high water they had been practising in.

“I can’t, guys,” she had to admit through gritted teeth. “I’m too tired.”

“Alright,” Ren decided. “We’ll stop here, then.” 

“You wanna head back to the beach?” Cub asked. False nodded, letting some more of her body weight be supported by both him and Grian. 

“I think I just want to go home,” False replied.  _ Home _ , that hadn’t been her own base in a very long time. Her base wasn’t exactly wheelchair-friendly, and though Mumbo had offered to build her a custom elevator, she had declined. The whole point of her base was that it was a huge, evil-looking tower -- and what kind of evil lair had a wheelchair ramp attached to it? ( _ A progressive, inclusive one _ , Stress had replied to one of False’s late-night rants a few days ago.)

No, instead, False had taken refuge in Bdubs’ base village, where he had built her a barrier-free cottage in the middle of his farms. It was the complete opposite of False’s original base, but she didn’t mind; she liked looking out of her windows and seeing the colourful flowers. Bdubs himself left her in relative peace, usually stopping by at the end of the day for a drink and to have some dinner together. A variety of Hermits would also stop by to join them, and False would say she loved having them over if it didn’t make her feel so  _ useless _ . She felt like a liability, needing others to babysit her. She was stuck wherever they took her, until someone showed up to take her somewhere else again. And she didn’t want that. So, last week, she had approached Ren and asked him to help her with physical therapy. He had immediately agreed.

“Wanna fly there?” Grian asked, a mischievous glint visible in his eyes. False scoffed.

“That’s not a very funny joke, G,” she replied as Cub shot Grian a confused look.

“I’m not joking. Wanna fly?” Before False could protest further, he had produced an extra elytra from Void-knows-where and strapped it around her shoulders. After everything that had happened, she couldn’t use her left arm, so he used a bit of a lead to tie the straps together across her chest to keep them from falling off. “You don’t need your legs to fly, silly Falsie!” he added, handing her a stack of rockets. 

“I do need them to take off and to land, though!” she responded, getting interrupted by a cough, though she could feel the first hints of the adrenalin rush related to flying course through her body, settling in her stomach as a nervous flutter. 

“That’s just a technicality,” Grian decided. “Now, come on, False Supremacy! I’ll race ya to Impulse’s base!” He held his rockets in one hand, and grabbed the back of False’s jacket collar with the other. “Here, let me help you into the air.” Within one tick, he had launched them both into the air, the familiar sound of rockets buzzing past False’s ears. She let out a yelp. She hadn’t experienced this feeling ever since she travelled to Season Six, and soaring through the air felt like a rush. Giggling loudly, she lit a rocket, following Grian across the ocean. Flying.

On the ground, Ren and Cub watched as Grian and False disappeared from their render distance. Chuckling, Ren mumbled: “He actually managed to do it.”

“You knew he was going to ask her to fly?” Cub asked, eyes wide. Ren smiled at him from behind his sunglasses.

“Yup. G-man wondered if it could help her regain strength, and it definitely would. He also knew there was no way to get her to fly if we just outright asked her, so...it became a surprise instead. And what a surprise!” Ren let out a happy laugh. 

“You know,” Cub commented, “I think we finally have our Falsie back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter left! As sad as I am that this fic is almost over, I'm also excited to be able to start a new adventure after this one!


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> False has an important conversation.

The late-night knock at her door surprised False. Frowning, she rolled her wheelchair over to the entrance of her cottage. Sure, she had learnt how to walk again, but it probably would never not be a challenge, so she tried to remember to give her legs some rest when she could. Had someone forgotten their communicator after dinner -- Zedaph, Impulse, Tango? She glanced over at her dinner table. Nothing seemed out of place. 

“Who is it?” she called out, just in case it wasn’t a player. Bdubs had been building a new woodworking shop, and he had warned her he hadn’t lit it up completely yet. 

“Xisuma,” came the reply. Smiling, False opened the door.

“What can I do for y--” she started, but faltered once she noticed the nervous Hermit standing behind the admin. Wels was hopping from one foot onto the other, staring at the cobble ramp in front of her door. 

“Could we talk?” Xisuma asked, dragging Wels inside once False had nodded. 

“Tea?” False asked them. Both men replied affirmatively. The motion of preparing the drink put her at ease, listening to them quietly discuss the day’s events at her kitchen table. Grian had recently helped her tear out her countertops and replaced them all with slabs, allowing her easier access to everything. She had rewarded him with home-cooked dinner and a promise to be the first test subject for his new elytra flying course. 

“So,” False began once they all had mugs of steaming-hot tea in front of them, “what’s up?” Xisuma nudged Wels, who cleared his throat.

“I feel like I have to apologise to you,” he murmured, staring at his tea. “I…” He took a deep breath. “I feel responsible.”

“For what?” False exclaimed.

“For…” Wels made a vague motion at her and let out a sound that reminded False of choking.

“For what’s happened to you,” Xisuma answered.  _ For what had happened to her _ ? What was he talking about; nothing had recently-- oh.  _ Oh _ . 

“That’s not your fault, Wels,” False stated. She reached out to grab his hand. “None of it was your fault.”

“But,” Wels protested, though he did grasp her hand, “if I hadn’t fallen asleep and missed the move, I... “ He took a shuddering breath. “You lost your arm; you’re paralysed from the waist down. Sometimes you can’t even breathe. Void, False, you nearly died!” False could see tears gather in his eyes. Sighing, she shook her head.

“ _ You  _ didn’t do any of that.  _ I  _ decided to go back to find you. The  _ Void Dwellers  _ attacked me.  _ You  _ didn’t know that would happen, nor did I. And yeah, I nearly died. But I didn’t, and now you’re back with us. I’ve learnt to function perfectly well without my left arm, and Stress’ potions mean it doesn’t even hurt anymore. I  _ was  _ paralysed, but I’ve regained strength. And Iskall and Mumbo just yesterday gifted me a helmet to help me on the bad days. I’m okay, Wels. I promise. I’m not going to forgive you though.” When Wels looked up at her, False added: “Because you did nothing wrong..” She smiled, and squeezed his hand.

“Have you talked to Cleo about this?” Xisuma asked Wels. “Since she was there too, and all.” Wels nodded.

“She hit the back of my head and told me to stop being ridiculous, that what mattered is that our family is back together.” False couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image, and Xisuma and Wels joined her. 

“Speaking of family,” Xisuma began, his eyes suddenly seeming more serious behind his visor, “I wanted to talk to the two of you as well. When Mumbo and Iskall went end-busting last week, they saw something strange. I needed a few days to verify their observations, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it could be only one thing. Or, well, one person.” False tilted her head. 

“What do you mean, X?” she asked.

“They swore they saw Biffa near the Edge Far Lands in the End.”

“...why were they all the way over there?” Wels wondered. “How could they even get there?” Xisuma sighed.

“The server bugged out, and the gateway accidentally sent them much too far. Thankfully, they were fine, but...that’s what they saw.”

“Now what?” False asked.

“Now I need to find a team that will let me teleport them out there and see what’s going on, but I wanted to talk to you two first, because I didn’t know how you would feel about being confronted with something so similar to what happened to you, False.” False looked up at Wels. She only had to look in his eyes to know he was thinking the same thing she was.

“We’ll do it,” they both announced at the same time. 

“You’ll... _ what _ ?!” Xisuma announced. False nodded.

“I can fly in the End, so I’ll be fine. And I’ll have Wels with me, and I’ll have a functioning communicator.” She smiled. 

“Are you sure?” Xisuma asked. False nodded.

“As long as there aren’t any llamas involved, I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a wrap! Thank you so much for going on this adventure with me! I don't feel like writing action/adventure-style fics are really my forte, but I've loved writing this story and building the mechanics. 
> 
> This story will most likely not be getting a sequel, because I just don't have any ideas for it, but I _will_ be starting a new multi-chapter friendship-focused/no-romance fic soon.
> 
> I wish you all warm winter days or cool summer nights depending on where you are in the world. Enjoy the lights, the mediocre holiday TV, and remember that even if you're feeling alone, there's always community to be found online or otherwise. Try joining a (small) streamer's chat, wave at the person walking their dog outside your window, call or text a friend or a family member, or try to find comfort in the Hermits' videos. The holidays can be as tough as they can be comforting, especially in these strange times, but I believe in you! <3
> 
> Happy holidays, m'dears!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, Hermitcraft fandom! I've been writing fanfiction for about 11 years now, but this is my first work for Hermitcraft. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks in advance!
> 
> I don't usually write multichapter action/adventure-style fics, but I really wanted to challenge myself with this one. =)


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